Author - Sportbet.com Staff

If you witnessed third-seeded Georgia’s absolutely thrilling comeback win over No. 2 Oklahoma in their Rose Bowl semifinal matchup last weekend then you witnessed a game that will be talked about for generations.

Bet Georgia To Win The 2017 National Title Because…

1. Rush Attack

There aren’t many teams that have a better and more powerful rushing attack than Alabama, but Georgia is one of them! The Bulldogs feature two superstar running backs that will be playing on Sundays in the NFL very soon in Nick Chubb and Sonny Michel. Not only did the pair set a Rose Bowl record for combined rushing yards by two running back with Michel rushing for 181 yards and three scores and Chubb adding 145 yards and two touchdowns, but the pair were simply prolific all season long. Chubb rushed for a stellar 1,320 yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging 6.4 yards per carry while Michel added 1,129 yards and 16 scores while averaging a stupendous 8.0 yards per carry. Hell, the Bulldogs have another, but lesser-known running back that has stardom in his future as well in gifted third-stringer D’Andre Swift who chipped in 603 rushing yards and three touchdowns this season while averaging a stupendous 7.8 yards per carry.

2. Head Coach "Smart"s

Now in his second season at Georgia, head coach Kirby Smart knows Alabama and Nick Saban as well as any coach in college football. That could help the Bulldogs in their quest to pull off the big upset. Smart was Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator with the Tide from 2008-2015 and that means he should know how to attack Alabama’s defense and what plays to call when he sees specific defensive alignments from the Crimson Tide in the national championship. Whether the student can out-coach the teacher remains to be seen, but Smart has clearly built a program at Georgia that is eerily identical to Alabama’s and that alone means they should be able to hang with the Tide throughout the national championship.

3. The Defense

In keeping with the Kirby Smart thing, clearly the Tide’s former defensive coordinator knows how to build an elite defense and devise a defensive scheme that produces jaw-dropping results. This season, Georgia’s eye-opening success was first and foremost, the result of their shut-down defense. The Bulldogs ranked an encouraging sixth in total defense (289.5 ypg), eighth against the pass (167.6 ypg) and 20th against the run (121.9 ypg) while finishing a stellar fifth in points allowed (15.7 ppg). Linebacker Roquan Smith is a first-team All-American and sideline-to-sideline ‘beast’ that won SEC Defensive Player of the Year award and more prestigious Butkus award as the nation’s top linebacker. While the Bulldogs don’t really have a bunch of big-name players right now, you had best believe that scoring on them doesn’t come easily, even if Baker Mayfield and the Sooners put up 48 points on them in their shootout of a semifinal matchup last weekend.

4. The Quarterback

True freshman quarterback Jake Fromm certainly doesn’t get much attention seeing as how Georgia is all about their defense and rushing attack, but I’ve got to say. After watching the freshman signal-caller all season, he’s pretty darned good and looks like he could make it at the next level if he continues to improve. I like Fromm’s poise in the pocket and the fact that he doesn’t seem to get rattled very often. The first-year signal-caller completed an impressive 63.7 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,383 yards with 23 touchdowns, but it is his lack of interceptions (just five) that has impressed me most. I know Kirby Smart has played a brand of football that doesn’t place his young quarterback under a lot of duress to make big plays, but when he has been called upon to make them, he’s delivered more often than not. If Alabama somehow manages to shut down Georgia’s rushing attack, Fromm could be the key to whether Georgia wins the national championship or not.

5. There’s No Place Like Home

The 2018 national championship will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, making it, for all intents and purposes, a home game for the Bulldogs. Georgia could feed off of what should be a slightly increased number of home fans and that ‘12t man’ could give them the extra boost they’ll need in order to get past the more experienced Crimson Tide. However, you should know that, while Georgia is the first team to play a national championship game in its home state since LSU played in New Orleans back in 2012 –those Tigers lost that BCS title tilt to – of all teams – Alabama.

The streaking Troy Trojans will look to cap off their season in style when they take on a ‘hopeful’ North Texas Mean Green squad that has pretty damned hot themselves when the two teams take to the gridiron for the 2017 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on December 16. If you’re looking to get your 2017 bowl betting season started off to a positive start, let’s find out who is offering the best value in this matchup.

Why Bet North Texas To Win The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

North Texas had won five straight and eight of nine until suffering a humbling 41-17 blowout loss against Florida Atlantic in their regular season finale on Dec. 2 while never coming close to covering the spread as an 11-point underdog. Still, the Mean Green have a lot to play for as they look to reach the 10-win plateau for the first time in program history. Quarterback Mason Fine has been fantastic in completing 64.3 percent of his passes for 3,749 yards with 28 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while running back Jeffery Wilson racked up a stellar 1,215 yards and 16 touchdowns. The Mean Green put an impressive 35.9 points per game on the board (20th) but also gave up a whopping 33.8 points per contest defensively (106th).

Why Bet Troy To Win The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

The Troy Trojans are on fire, having won six consecutive games including their exciting 32-25 win over Arkansas State on Dec. 3. Quarterback Brandon Silvers threw two touchdown passes, including the game-winner with 17 seconds left to lift Troy to victory and help the Trojans nab a share of the Sun Belt Conference title. Without a timeout, Silvers drove the Trojans 72 yards in nine plays before hitting wide receiver Deondre Douglas in the corner of the end zone from 14 yards out on fourth-and-5. Behind Silvers, the Trojans averaged 30.0 points per game (52nd) while limiting the opposition to just 17.5 points per contest defensively (11th).

North Texas Vs Troy Pick To Win The R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

North Texas is hoping to reach the 10-win mark for the first time in school history, but I believe Troy is just too good defensively to lose this New Orleans Bowl contest. I know the Mean Green have gone 7-1 ATS in their last 8 non-conference games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall, but the Trojans have covered the spread in three straight, including twice as a favorite of at least 17.5 points while also going 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games against a team with a winning record. Simply put, Troy can score the ball as well as North Texas, but the Trojans are the far better defensive team which is why they’ll win this one and cover the chalk as a near touchdown favorite!

No. 3 Georgia will face No. 2 Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl for a shot at the National Title!

It’s going to be a classic matchup of offense versus defense when the second-ranked Oklahoma Sooners square off against the third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in the 2018 Rose Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal on New Year’s Day!

Bet Georgia To Win The Rose Bowl Because…

Georgia (12-1 SU, 9-4 ATS) has won three straight and rebounded in the SEC title tilt on Saturday in their rematch against Auburn to punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs picked up a convincing 28-7 win over the Tigers this past weekend after getting routed by their SEC counterparts 40-17 three weeks ago. Freshman quarterback Jake Fromm completed an efficient 16 of 22 passes for 183 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions while running back D’Andre Swift rushed seven times for 88 yards and one score in the win.

The Dawgs rushed for 238 yards in the win, while their defense held Auburn to just 3.7 yards per carry while recovering two fumbles and limiting quarterback Jarrett Stidham to 145 passing yards and one touchdown. Georgia is seeking its first national title since 1980, the longest active drought among teams in the CFP. Oklahoma won in 2000.

Bet Oklahoma To Win The Rose Bowl Because…

Oklahoma sealed their bid to their second trip to the CFP by blasting Big 12 rival TCU off the field for the second time this season in its 41-17 conference championship win on Saturday just three weeks after beating the Horned Frogs 38-20. Quarterback Baker Mayfield likely sealed his chances of winning the Heisman Trophy award by completing 15 of 23 passes for 243 yards and four touchdowns in the convincing win. Mayfield has had a phenomenal season by throwing for 4,340 yards with 41 TD passes and just five interceptions. The senior signal-caller could become the third player to go from winning the Heisman on to the playoff, joining Oregon’s Marcus Mariota in 2014 and Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015.

Georgia Vs Oklahoma Rose Bowl ATS Pick

Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma Sooners are the pick to win and cash in as slight 1.5-point favorites simply because there hasn’t been a defense good enough to stop them this season. Mayfield has tossed 36 TD passes and seven interceptions. Last season, he threw 40 TD passes and eight interceptions and this year, he’s gone for 41 TD strikes and 5 picks.

The Sooners allow almost a dozen points per game more than the Bulldogs, but Georgia isn’t the most explosive team in college football as they prefer to play ball control offense led by their powerful rushing attack. I’m thinking Oklahoma will get out front early on and Georgia will be forced to abandon its preferred style of play while playing catch-up against a Sooners offense that averages a stunning 44.9 points per game this season.

Georgia is 5-1 ATS in their last six neutral site games and 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games overall, but Oklahoma is a perfect 5-0 ATS in their last five games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous games, 4-0 ATS in their last four games against teams from the SEC, 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win and a consistent 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games following a ATS win. Give me Baker Mayfield and the Sooners, minus the points for the win and ATS cover!